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Gaming Board shoots down Rosemont bid for casino
Associated Press State gambling regulators torpedoed plans for a
riverboat casino in Rosemont today, claiming key casino officials had
"insidious" ties to organized crime.
The 4-1 decision came after more than 1 1/2 years of wrangling following the
state legislature's decision that laid the groundwork for the lucrative venture.
Board Administrator Sergio Acosta recommended the license denial, saying that
Emerald Casino Inc. officials Donald and Kevin Flynn had made "false and
misleading statements" to the board in the course of its investigation.
Acosta also said two of the proposed shareholders have close associations
with organized crime and that the mob controls at least one firm contracted to
do construction at the site of the proposed casino.
"Based on our investigation, it is our staff's recommendation that this
license renewal not be approved," Acosta said.
Rosemont Mayor Donald Stephens has vehemently denied that he has any ties to
organized crime. Emerald attorney Mike Ficaro had asked the board for extra time
to respond to some of the allegations but the request was denied.
"It's not fair, it's not right," Ficaro said.
Lawmakers approved the casino in 1999 as part of a sweeping package that
allowed gambling boats to remain docked and promised casino money to help prop
up the horse-racing industry.
The law allowed the operators of a defunct East Dubuque riverboat to move the
state's only dormant casino license to Rosemont, a northwest suburb sandwiched
between Chicago and O'Hare International Airport. The owners took a new name,
Emerald Casino Inc., and applied with the Gaming Board to move the license.
State experts predicted that Rosemont would be the most lucrative casino site
in the state, generating between $10 million and $15 million every month in tax
revenue.
But the move was put in limbo after a rival development group from Lake
County, seeking a shot at the license, claimed the law amounted to an
unconstitutional political deal. A Cook County judge dismissed that lawsuit last
week.
Stephens had been outspoken about the Gaming Board's slow pace, once
threatening to file his own lawsuit to get the process moving.
Although the mayor owns no shares in the planned casino, some regulators
worried his sway over the town could influence how it is built and run.
The state's Riverboat Gambling Act requires the board to consider the
"character, reputation, experience and financial integrity" of anyone
who has direct or indirect control over a casino.
Stephens had said Gaming Board investigators interviewed him about whether he
knew several mob leaders.
The mayor was acquitted of tax and fraud charges in 1985 along with two
co-defendants, Isaac Degen and Raymond Rosato, owners of a construction company. |
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